SVHM staff planning to publish a systematic review can apply for a research librarian to co-author. This role focuses on developing and running structured searches across multiple bibliographic databases and recording and writing up the methodology for publication.
Please note that due to staffing limitations and the significant time commitment (approx 30 hours) required for a systematic review we are not able to accept all requests, and we cannot promise a quick turnaround.
In order to be considered, review teams need to:
- include at least two authors committed to spending significant time on screening records (not just a supervisory role);
- demonstrate a serious commitment to publish following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines or an agreed equivalent;
- undertake to register a protocol with PROSPERO or equivalent (can be after applying for librarian co-authorship, but before screening);
- have sufficient funds to enable publishing. Library staff cannot contribute financially to any publishing costs.
We are unable to co-author reviews where applicants are expected to design search strategies themselves for educational purposes (such as advanced coursework, Masters or College qualifications). In those situations we offer searching and EndNote tutorials, as well as access to Covidence software.
Staff planning a systematic review as part of a PhD need to keep in mind:
- librarian co-authorship needs to be explicitly approved by any supervisor and university before applying
- the professional time commitment for a librarian throughout this process is very significant - about 30 hours on average - and this needs to be realistically factored into any contribution percentage.
The librarian's role as co-author in a systematic review includes:
- initial consultation with the review team around the subject matter and the librarian's expected role in the paper
- brief scoping searches to identify relevant key terms, subject headings, textwords and phrases
- identification of search terms through text mining programs such as Yale MeSH Analyser & Pubmed PubReMiner (where appropriate)
- consultation with topic experts to confirm definitions and search parameters
- development and refinement of initial search strategy for Ovid Medline
- confirmation of Medline search strategy with topic experts
- translation of Medline search strategy to other relevant databases such as Emcare, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase and the Cochrane Library.
- running searches in appropriate databases
- recording databases searched, detailed search strategies, date of last search and number of results
- export of search results to Endnote
- removal of duplicate citations in Endnote
- provision of deduped citations in a compressed Endnote library
- initial draft of PRISMA flowchart including search results
- access to Covidence systematic review software
- uploading results to Covidence
- answering queries re search methodology
- teaching team members/research assistants how to source full text articles for full text review stage (please note that sourcing full text articles is not part of this role, but library staff can teach you how to do this yourself)
- updating searches on request
- writing search methodology for publication
- proofreading drafts and providing feedback within the librarian's area of expertise
- response to reviewers as appropriate
- other relevant consultations with the research team in accordance with the librarian's expertise
Application form (SVHM staff only)
